Occupy Wall street has been working very hard (as many other Occupy movements as well) to let the world know that people are tired of other people being used and stepped on (in general) and when I watch the news reports and read the Blogs it all sounds so familiar to me, who else feels like this? Who else has occupied a place that technically doesn’t belong to them? Who else police themselves when things go wrong?
Street gangs have existed in the US since the 1820’s and guess what it’s not the Bloods or Crips or The Latin Kings either, it was a group of Irish immigrants (according to NYC history) and it’s interesting that many street gangs have been started by immigrant groups here in the US. Street gangs mostly begin because the communities they come from have been used and abused and stepped on because they are viewed as a group of people with no rights what so ever. Youth gather on a street corner, play lot, at church, in school, and find themselves battling adults for basic needs like books for school, food, access to services, and most of all what we all want...Love.
Unfortunately, you can drive in any part of a city, more recently most suburbs, and find not only youth but adults as well Occupying street corners, convenient stores, parking lots, vacant lots, vacant/abandoned homes, etc. all with similar complaints as our Brothers and Sisters on Wall street and many other Occupy movements around the country. So the thought of Occupying a place to make a statement has been around for a while it’s just shifted in who’s doing it and where it’s being done. Should the street gangs open up chapters, sections, hoods on Wall Street, downtown LaSalle Street in Chicago, or 14th and Broadway in Oakland?
My point in all of this is that there is a separation of unfairness in our society and how it affects different people that all say they are on the same boat. Most Brothers and Sisters from street gangs would never think of standing toe to toe with a cop in riot gear because we have felt that blow before and know that we can always catch an ass beating in the hood. So to go far from the hood to get the same ass beating makes no sense because chances are we will get another one once we get back to the hood. Will the actions of the Occupy movement help those Brothers and Sisters in the hood? Some have said that the hood needs to come out to these movements and some us do and a whole lot don’t and most likely never will because of that same thought of a possible conflict with the police department.
Now some people might say that everyone has to put in their share of work and this is true but what the community refuses to acknowledge or maybe they just forget sometimes is that the street organizations have been the fighting force for every community. There are some communities that have NOT been gentrified due to high “gang activity” in the area, burglaries, muggings, and car theft, among other criminal acts sometimes are not as bad or almost non-existent in some of the communities. What’s the exchange? Possibly other forms of crimes and we have become complacent with these activities to some level. It’s not right but those criminal activities are a form of “ACTIONS” (like what community activism groups do) that these street organizations might participate in. It’s a message of frustration, anger, depression, and sadness that they and their community are going through.
It is hard to ask someone that has been beaten down by a system to go protest about something’s that might not affect them directly, to their immediate knowledge, like Banking and home ownership two things that were effectively denied in poor communities as well as in Majority Black and Latino communities. Education of these issues is necessary for everyone.
Our society thrives on hate and that conversation is not being had because some people think that if the political process were to change let’s say from Democracy to Communism everything would be different, I've yet to hear someone say that it would be better and that’s the key we are looking for. I truly believe that there is not one political system in the world that can handle a country like ours because it’s the first time the World has seen a country like ours.
There isn’t one movement that will answer it all but the Occupy movement is a great start and I remind people not to tunnel their sights and realize that there’s a lot more work to be done.
As for my Beloved Brothers and Sisters fighting on the front lines of every hood, prison, and lock up across the country I thank you for your sacrifice and ask everyone to allow these Brothers and Sisters to Occupy part of your everyday thoughts and prayers.
Peace/AMOR
Gerardo
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